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Officials Warn SF Giants Fans Of Fake Merchandise

Fans wave towels as the San Francisco Giants take on the St. Louis Cardinals in Game Seven of the National League Championship Series at AT&T Park on October 22, 2012 in San Francisco. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – While the World Series may be over, that isn’t stopping people from selling fake merchandise to San Francisco Giants fans.

So far, an ongoing investigation by the Department of Homeland Security has netted thousands of dollars worth of counterfeit t-shirts and hats.

KCBS’ Mark Seelig Reports:

Homeland Security Assistant Special Agent Anthony Ho said many of the problems started cropping up last week.

“Over the course of the World Series here in San Francisco, we had plain clothes agents going out encountering street vendors and quickly identifying these as counterfeit,” Ho said.

Agents were able to confiscate around $32,000 worth of fake merchandise in just two days. But Ho said that it’s conceivable that there is more than $100,000 worth of fake goods floating around.

“What you have here are people taking advantage, essentially stealing from the Giants, by taking their efforts and then selling fake goods to make a profit for themselves,” said Ho.

Fans looking to purchase merchandise should look for the Major League Baseball hologram sticker on the product. If it’s not there, it’s a fake.

“Really, what you’re buying is a low quality product that doesn’t benefit people,” said Ho. “In fact, some of the money we know goes back to gangs. Last time, we knew that the money went back to gangs in LA that were organizing and selling these things.”

While the season is over, the victory parade on Wednesday is expected to provide people with even more opportunity to sell these items.

When asked if they would have agents patrolling the parade route, Ho would only say that they will continue to search out these fraudulent products.

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)